A/N don't own the turtles... boy, am I sick of that sentance.

moving on... bla blah blah... OK, not thats out of my system, hope ya enjoy the next installation of Cannon Ball- oh, and a friendly word of warning, I've got weirder, so this chapter has got weirder- hopefully, all shall return to normal when I get outta this funk I'm in!

Chapter One – Dreaming – Part 2

"Leo! Bro- Dude- calm down! You where having a nightmare!" Michaelangelo yelled, holding Leo by his shoulders.

Leo blinked quickly, focusing on his youngest brothers face. "Mike?" He whispered, touching his face weakly. "Are you... you're..."

"Dude, you're like totally tripping out." Michaelangelo said quietly.

Leo's strained face broke into a smile and he grabbed Michaelangelo in a tight embrace. He pulled away after a few seconds though, and untwisted his legs from his blanket. "What.. what time is it?"

"Bout 4 in the morning." Michaelangelo answered. "I just going down for a glass 'a water, and I heard you screaming." Michaelangelo grinned. "Nice to know I'm not the only one who gets nightmares. What happened?"

Leo shrugged. "Ah... I can't really remember... mostly, images- shadows. And- a clock, or something to do with time, and death..." Leo shrugged again, he didn't like lying, but he didn't want to think about his dream, much less explain it to Michaelangelo. He heard Michaelangelo's insane laughter again and a shiver ran down his spine. "Is Raph OK?"

"Raph? Yeah... he's fine. Why?"

"He was there too."

"Wow. No wonder it was a nightmare." Michaelangelo laughed weakly. Leo shook his head.

"I'm OK now Mikey. Thank... thank you."

"Sure, bro.." Michaelangelo moved to the doorway. "Hey... you wanna bunk with me?"

"What? No... uh, I'll be fine." Leo nodded, Michaelangelo shrugged, then left quietly.

Leo lay back for a few minutes, dwelling on his nightmare- trying to work out what had caused it- it all... it seemed... so real... Not like a dream at all.

He tossed and turned for a while, before finally shrugging off any hope that he would get back to sleep. He got up slowly, body aching, tired- as if he hadn't slept at all. Tension set knots into his shoulders and neck, and a stress headache began to build up. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, making for the dojo.

He had meant to train, work out the tension- but, instead, he sat down slowly, rolling his neck a few times, he let his aching eyes close, head starting to pound, he let his body relax a little, ignoring the ache in his shoulders and neck, and the banging in his head, mainly around his right temple, and began meditating.

It was a dream. It had to be a dream. This is reality. I know it is. It has to be. Leo shook his head, and took a deep breath. Don't think about it. Just... don't think about it- it was too... too horrible to be anything near reality.

It doesn't matter, it was a dream- just a dream. Doesn't matter anymore.

I'm awake now.

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He's tired.

So tired. He wonders if he's ever been this tired- if he has, it hasn't been for a long, long time. He then tries to work out why he's so tried- but his mind can't focus- his right shoulder hurts now. A stabbing pain, not too bad, but almost constant, like someone repeatedly stabbing a knife into his shoulder- he feels it, as if he is... parted from his body, more senses than feels it. It's strange, he knows it hurts- it's even affecting his chest- his breathing.

But the pain- it doesn't really hurt.

"It hurts. I think"

"What?

He snaps back to reality. He looks up.

"Leo?" Donnatello asked softly. "What's wrong?"

"I'm..." Leo frowns- what was he thinking? He can't remember. "What time is it?"

Time has changed- what meaning does time actually have? Does it... why does time matter so much? You never have enough- or you always have too much. Now his arm hurts.

"Bout 6." Donnatello looks at his brother, worried. "Are you alright?"

"Tired." Leo struggles to breathe- he can feel the oxygen getting in, feel his chest rising and falling, but it's not enough. He can feel the rush of too much oxygen on his brain- hyperventilating... He slows his breathing even more, taking shallow breaths.

Not enough oxygen- too much oxygen. Just like time, too much, or not enough.

It's strange. But now his left arm is horribly tired. He can feel his heart pounding in his chest, strangely, he can feel it more in his back than his chest. He feels sick- but sick isn't quite the word either. His pulsing, hammering heart beat travels to his stomach.

"I feel sick." Leo mutters, then stands- his legs... feel strange. Like he's... floating. Not really standing. Like the muscles have been... relaxed, to a point were they won't respond any more.

A puppet, with it's strings cut.

Leo stands there a while. Donnatello doesn't take his eyes from his oldest brother. "Leo?" Donnatello stands slowly, approaches Leo. "What is it?"

Leo takes a breath- he'd been holding his breath for a while. Since he felt himself starting to hyperventilate, really. But already- he feels like he's got too much air, too much oxygen in his system. He swallows- his throat is tight.

"What's wrong with me?" He says aloud- without meaning to. He sits down again, allowing his body to slouch, to fold in on itself. His stomach feels- empty. Like he hasn't had enough to eat, but the feeling of hunger hasn't reached his brain yet.

"Leo?" Donnatello demands- Leo can hear the panic rising in his brothers voice.

"Don't worry, Donny. I'm just... I'm gonna go to bed, OK? I'm really tired. I can't really- think. I'm just a little... exhausted." Leo smiles. At least his arm doesn't hurt anymore.

But he doesn't want to sleep- doesn't want to dream again.

Doesn't want to hear Michaelangelo's manical laughter, doesn't want to see the malice on Donnatello's face- but most of all, doesn't want to see the child-like fear and innocence on Raphael's face.

"Don, I'm having trouble sleeping." Leo sighs- there... that feels better. Donnatello can help, he'll know what to do. "I have horrible... dreams."

Donnatello sits beside Leo. "Like, what?"

"I don't really want to talk about them." Leo explains, feeling pathetic, cowardly. Why doesn't he want to talk about them? He can't stop thinking about them.

Donnatello reaches for him- perhaps to offer comfort, perhaps to offer a solution, or maybe to ask more questions.

Doesn't matter anymore.

"I just- I'm just going to bed." Leo interrupts and stands quickly.

Suddenly, he realizes the problem. But before he can accept it, he wants to be as far away from Donny, and Mikey and Raph as possible. He retreats to his room quickly, ignoring the worried look Donny gives his retreating back.

He gets into bed weakly, after making sure the door is locked, body starting to fail him even as he pulls the covers up and turns away from the door.

Now, safe from his brothers, from... whatever it is he needs to hide from, he can face his realization.

I feel... like I'm dreaming again...

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hope it wasn't too painful! suggestions, praise, critisism- all is welcome!

I do have an excuse for this chapter, and the first chapter- I never really cared for Alice in Wonderland- to tell the truth, the cheshire cat kinda scared me... even tho he's kninda cool- anyways... I feel like I've just mooched on through the looking glass, fallen down the rabbit hole, whatever...

things feel different, but the same- so what Leo's going through, I'm kinda going through too, and all the physical and mental symptons thingies he just described- well, I wrote down what I was feeling, as I felt it! bleh...

so anyways, hope ya enjoyed. I may update it, or I may delete it! depends how I feel when I return to reality.

poof